The Egyptian government has now allowed Nigerian students who are trying to leave the conflict in Sudan to return home across its borders.
Recall that the students were stranded at the Egyptian-Sudanese border after the Egyptian government refused to let them enter the airport on its soil, where they were supposed to be airlifted.
However, the chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, NIDCOM, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, stated yesterday that Egypt had finally opened its border for the students to be evacuated but with some stringent conditions.
After speaking with his counterpart in Egypt, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President Muhammadu Buhari reportedly ordered the border to be opened. She added that there were some strict requirements set up for the students to be evacuated.
“The border has just been opened, ( with stringent conditions ) after President Buhari’s intervention with the Egyptian President. So, the processing of evacuees by the Nigerian Embassy in Egypt will begin,” Dabiri-Erewa said.
Vanguard reports that the conditions include “details and schedule of the aircraft; capacity of the aircraft; a strong pledge that once our citizens depart the border, they will be conveyed directly to the designated airport.”
Others are “comprehensive list of the evacuees, with passport numbers; valid travel documents (passport or ETC); the presence of Nigerian government officials at the points of embarkation; and standby buses that will immediately convey them to the airport.”
The students and other citizens were stuck at the Egyptian border since Thursday night.
According to Dabiri-Erewa, the Egyptian authorities insisted on visas, and the Nigerian delegation in Egypt had been trying feverishly to find a solution.
Also keep in mind that the initial projection for the evacuated Nigerian population was a Friday arrival.
(Vanguard)
32FM 94.9